Bucking a Tide in D.C.

Council candidate Patrick Mara offers vision and energy.

SEVEN CANDIDATES are in the mix for two at-large seats on the D.C. Council. The real choice, though, boils down to this: sticking with the politics of the past or picking new leadership for the future. Residents who care about helping the schools succeed and supporting other reforms by Mayor Adrian M. Fenty should prove the pundits and politicians wrong and give one of their two votes to Patrick Mara.

It's been dismaying to see a tide of conventional wisdom dismiss Mr. Mara solely because he is a Republican in a Democratic city. Even before the election, some have declared faux independent Michael A. Brown the winner and incumbent Carol Schwartz, who is waging a write-in bid, the next runner-up. No doubt this perception helped Mr. Brown win the endorsement of D.C. Council Chairman Vincent D. Gray (D) and council members Harry Thomas Jr. (D-Ward 5), Yvette Alexander (D-Ward 7) and Marion Barry (D-Ward 8). It is worth noting that Mr. Barry and Mr. Thomas are among the council members most hostile to Mr. Fenty's school reform efforts, with Mr. Gray of late demonstrating his own reservations. Make no mistake: The battle for school reform is far from over, and Mr. Fenty and Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee will need all the help they can get in standing up to those opposed to change.

Mr. Mara's clear and constant support for education reform is one reason we endorsed him in his successful primary campaign against Ms. Schwartz (who opposed mayoral control of schools). Mr. Brown -- not to be confused with incumbent Democrat Kwame R. Brown (At Large), whom we have also endorsed in the at-large contest -- has expressed support for the mayor's reform efforts, but just last year, while campaigning for the Ward 4 council seat, he was an ardent foe. Similarly, it's worrisome that during this most recent campaign, Michael Brown told one group he wouldn't favor a moratorium on charter schools while telling another he would.

By contrast, it's easy to figure out where Mr. Mara stands and what kind of leader he would be. Witness his willingness to buck his party with his principled stand for a woman's right to choose to have an abortion and support for same-sex marriage. Witness, too, his firm commitment to support Mr. Fenty and Ms. Rhee as they work to improve education for all children in D.C. public schools.

We have more faith in the city's residents than do some of its leaders, who privately tell us they think Mr. Mara is the best candidate but won't go out on a limb to say so publicly. Compare them to council member David Catania (I-At Large), who has endorsed Mr. Mara -- and who can tell you from personal experience (his 1997 victory over a better-known incumbent) that a Republican with vision and energy can win in this town.